


Cybertronian and the Wizard

by Helthehatter



Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Fantasy, Medieval AU, One Shot, Transformers - Freeform, cliff hanger, there's more characters I just want some to be a surprise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:13:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26571985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Helthehatter/pseuds/Helthehatter
Summary: *an AU where transformers arrive on Earth in medieval times and instead of machines they transform into metallic dragons.Viviane is the estranged daughter of Merlin who will soon find she is the only one left to wield Merlin's Staff, opening up possibilities of great magic and wisdom. But she will also become a target to much darker forces.*This is a one shot that ends on a cliff hanger, depending on how the one shot is received will decide if I make it into a series.
Relationships: Hot Rod/Viviane Wembly
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	Cybertronian and the Wizard

Hot Rod stared up at the stars, taking an odd comfort from them. They weren’t the same as the stars that hung over Cybertron, but they weren’t exactly different either.

One thing he had in common with humans, they could both star gaze.

The red and black Autobot stood atop a grassy hill, on one side of him was a large lake of water that glittered like a mirror for the night sky. And on his other side was a small, castle-like structure.

Sitting next to the entrance of the building was his Cybertronian companion, Bumblebee. His bright yellow plating standing out against the gray stone of the house. Next to his knee sat a human clad in the armor of what the human’s called knights.

There was a heavy silence between the three, waiting for the news that they knew would not be good.

Bumblebee’s sudden buzz had Hot Rod turning around to see another human walk out of the building.

It was a man, with brown hair and sad eyes as he looked at the odd trio.

“He’s gone,” the man murmured, quiet. “Merlin’s dead.”

Bumblebee’s and the knight’s shoulders dropped in unison, the yellow robot letting out a melancholic buzz. Hot Rod turned to glare at the grass under his feet.

Merlin had been in bad health for as long as Hot Rod had known him, partly because he drank too much-partly because a Decepticon had found him. The memory made Hot Rod clench his hands into fists. Some guardian he had turned into.

The man who had brought the sad news looked at the two Cybertronians, “So, what’s the plan?”

Hot Rod pushed back his grief, he had a job to do. He turned to the man, “We need to have someone who can wield Merlin’s Staff, that was the one thing Prime ordered of us.” The last thing before the Autobot leader had vanished, off to hunt down Decepticons.

The knight’s helmet turned to him, “But how? Cybertronians can’t wield it’s power and it didn’t respond to either of us.” A hand indicated to the knight and man.

Hot Rod thought for a moment-he only needed a moment. “Merlin has a daughter.”

Viviane, her name was. Merlin had spoken of her with a mixture of affection and guilt. She apparently had no interest in pursuing her gift of magic, but she was Merlin’s kin and unless he had a gaggle of other illegitimate children (a possibility but not one he could rely on) she was the only one who could use the Staff.

“I’ll go find her myself,” Hot Rod offered, but then noticed the looks he received. “What?”

Bumblebee buzzed.

“Yes, I know they were estranged. But I’m incredibly charming I’m sure I could convince her to come her.”

Bumblebee buzzed yet again, softly shaking his head.

“Don’t laugh at me! Merlin’s daughter is the only one who can use the Staff, we _need_ her! And I will go and fetch her.”

.

Viviane carefully placed the book back on the shelf.

She looked around the small library, the nearly blind and deaf librarian sitting at his desk. Viviane wasn’t sure if she was technically allowed here, but she wasn’t about to double check and ask.

Reading was one of her favorite past times, learning to read was the only good thing her father had ever done for her. Even though he had taught her with spell books in mind.

But just the thought of Merlin made her gut twist, bitterness and anger wanting to make her scowl. With one last glance at the librarian, who looked to be sleeping, she slipped out of the abbey and across the bustling street. She kept her head down as she did so, being one of the few literates in this town she didn’t want to catch unwanted attention.

Being Merlin’s daughter had made her catch much unwanted attention over the years. Both Merlin and magic itself had a bad reputation in these lands, and Viviane made sure very few people knew that not only was she Merlin’s daughter but also had been ‘blessed’ with magic in her blood.

But the most she had ever been able to do was make flowers growl and heal small wounds, and she hadn’t done either of those things in years. Last thing she needed was to be chased out of town with torches.

_I can’t hide myself like Merlin can_ , she thought bitterly. _But that would require him to find me and he wouldn’t bother leaving his flask for that_.

She had never had a good relationship with her father, even as a child. She always felt more mature than him, and wished he could be like the parents of the other children she would sometimes play with. And when she started to show magical abilities he suddenly gave her more attention, but just to be his prodigy, not to be her father. When Viviane was on the cusp of being a woman she had told Merlin she had no desire to follow in his footsteps, which lead to a fight, which lead to him leaving. _Good riddance_ , was all she could say to that. 

Viviane, who had been walking down the streets, stuck in dark thoughts, when the conversation of two nearby women caught her attention:

“A _dragon_? Are you sure?”

Viviane came to a halt.

“That’s what my cousin told me,” the other woman insisted. “There’s a dragon, flying around these parts, attacking towns and villages.”

Viviane couldn’t help but step forward, “How many people were hurt?”

The woman gave her a slight glare, apparently offended that Viviane eavesdropped, but answered anyway: “From what my cousin told me, no one. I guess it’s looking for a very specific type of meal.”

The other woman shuddered while Viviane’s brow tent. She wouldn’t consider that an attack if it wasn’t hurting anyone, but she was smart enough not to say that in front of these two women. “Dragons haven’t been seen in ages,” she said instead.

“I know, otherwise a Dragon Hunter would’ve killed it by now,” the woman replied. “But it not attacking people isn’t even the strangest thing about it.”

“What could be stranger?” the other woman asked, absolutely mystified.

“This dragon isn’t made of flesh and scales,” the woman breathed, leaning her head forward. “It was made of something else…some otherworldly flesh, as hard as stone. No arrows or swords have been able to pierce it.”

“Otherworldly flesh?” Viviane echoed, “That makes no sense.”

The two women turned a glare at Viviane. “My cousin isn’t a liar,” the first woman said.

Before Viviane could assure that wasn’t what she was implying, the second one added. “I haven’t seen you around these parts, whereabouts are you from?”

Viviane had an image of herself being chased out of town and quickly curtsied to the ladies, “I must go.”

She hurried off once again, relieved to see the women didn’t call after or even pursue her.

So some strange dragon was terrorizing the lands, was it?

As a child Merlin had told her tales of dragons, but unlike the stories other people shared, Merlin’s had been positive. He had seemed to sincerely like the creatures, which deeply bothered their neighbors who told Merlin there was nothing good of creatures that ate men and burned down villages. Viviane had decided to believe the other adults, they hadn’t been drinking when they told their stories.

Viviane had slowed down by now, almost at the edge of town. Her stomach growled, she needed to get something to eat. She patted her pockets-empty. But at least her small, hidden knife, was still on her belt.

She huffed in frustration but turned and headed toward the local bakery. Maybe the baker had some left overs he wouldn’t mind giving for free to a pretty girl-his words, not hers.

.

Hot Rod flew above the rolling hills, steam escaping his nostrils as annoyance made his fangs grind.

He had been searching for Viviane, starting with the last town Merlin had seen his daughter at in passing. She hadn’t been there, at least-he hoped she hadn’t been. It wasn’t until he had left Bumblebee and the others did he realize he had no idea what Viviane looked like, sure Merlin had given him a description once but lots of humans had long dark hair!

He would just have to hope that he would know Merlin’s kin when he saw it. And that he’d be able to fetch her without terrorizing another village.

His tiredness and nerves had led to recklessness and his last stop at town had ended with him being spotted and flapping away. No doubt those humans would have spread the word about him for miles around.

The next town came into his line of vision and he quickly dropped down, flying lower so as not to be spotted by any citizens.

The town was surronded by trees and he carefully landed. What was the chance of the trees being a decent amount of cover? He could hide in the trees and study the humans and see if...if he could tell one of the women could wield incredible power.

_I deserved Bumblebee’s mocking laughter_.

He walked through the woods, careful not to make too much of a racket as he slid between the trees. He was just reaching the edge of the tree line when the sound of horses neighing and hoofs clopping made him lower his body, wings tucked tight to himself.

He watched a group of men ride their horses toward the town, they wore royal colors and he could tell they were aristocrats. They didn’t seem to notice him as they passed by, but just as he was able to relax the man in the middle brought his mount to a halt. The human was looking around the trees, passing over the oaks and brush that hid Hot Rod several times. A sense of dread sent an icy shake up his spine.

“Something wrong, my lord?” one of the other men asked as the rest of the group came to a halt ahead of him.

The man distractedly waved his hand at them, “Go into town without me. I’ll be right behind you.”

_Why not go into town now!_ Hot Rod snarled to himself, his claws digging grooves into the dirt. _You creepy, unnerving, little man_.

The men hesitated but then turned and continued toward the town, leaving their leader to himself. 

The man was rail thin, grayish brown hair, pale skin and cold eyes. He sat on his horse, silent, as if lost in thought. Hot Rod was on edge, he didn’t need this human to spot him and sound the alarm. He had a mission to do and for these humans’ sake he needed to succeed!

With his body feeling stiff he carefully lifted a foot, wanting to help the energon flow through his body. But the moment he moved the human pulled out his bow with incredible speed, notched it and aimed an arrow directly at Hot Rod.

The dragon hadn’t planned on moving, humans’ weapons barely left a dent in his armor like skin. But as the arrow zoomed past his back he let out a startled hiss of pain as the arrow’s tip split his skin. He jumped up, too taken off guard by the pain and looked at the arrow that had fallen to the ground a few yards away. It looked…different, and by the pain on his back it was dangerous.

The man’s horse let out a snort of fright when the dragon came into sight, looking ready to bolt. But the man was already grabbing another arrow-dark gray, metallic, otherworldly-Hot Rod panicked and backed away, flapping his wings in an attempt to take flight. But his wings hit the branches of the surrounding trees, stopping him from flying off. Hot Rod glanced at the man, saw his arrow was aiming at his chest, and turned tail and ran-right into the middle of the town square.

Instantly the humans panicked and rushed to the safety of their houses, Hot Rod unable to get a good look at any of them. He let out a snarl.

_I’m so stupid! Why did I agree to do this? Why did I agree to stay with Merlin? Why did I even come to_ Earth _? I should’ve just_ -

From a nearby shop a woman rushed out, stopping in her tracks the moment she saw the dragon standing in the middle of the street.

Their eyes met.

Hot Rod didn’t breathe, but if he did he was sure it would catch at the sight of her. _It’s her-Merlin’s daughter! Viviane! I found her!…She’s gorgeous_ … And here he thought he wouldn’t be able to tell it was her when he saw her, she stood out like the sun stood out among the stars. And like the sun he was gravitated toward her. Lifting his wings he rushed toward the girl, wrapping his talons around her waist before she could move and rushing up into the sky.

But as he flew away, Viviane held firmly in his claws, he felt the eyes of that strange man follow him until he was above the clouds.

.

One moment Viviane had been trying to smooch free bread off the baker, the next moment she had heard screaming and wailing in the streets. She had rushed out of the shop, expecting raiders or a rabid bear but what she saw was something she had honestly thought was a tall tale.

A dragon.

More specifically, _the_ dragon, the one the women had told her about. It stood in the middle of the street, looking around at the panicked, retreating humans with an equally panicked expression. Instead of scales it’s red and black and gray skin looked to be made of some kind of metal, it reminded her of a knight’s.

She had come to a complete stop once she set eyes on the giant beast, and at the same time the creature turned his head to stare directly at her. She was shocked to see its eyes glowed a blue that was bright with intelligence. She could tell this wasn’t a mindless beast, and it looked like recognition flashed across its face when it saw her.

The next thing she knew the dragon lunged at her, incredibly fast despite its large size, and wrapped its claws around her. It flapped wings that were made of the strange metal substance and then they were in the air, Viviane could only stare dumbly at the ground as he flew higher and higher, the town getting smaller and smaller.

It wasn’t until the town disappeared through the clouds did her head catch up with the fact that she had just been taken by a dragon, who was no doubt taking her to a cave to be devoured.

She let out a shriek and started to struggle against the creature’s strong grip, punching fruitlessly at its claws. “Let me go! _Let me go_!”

A voice reached her ears through the wide that sliced against her, a _french_ voice: “Mademoiselle! Please, don’t struggle! I don’t want to drop you!”

Viviane stilled her struggling to look around, “Who said that!?”  
Then-to her absolute shock-the dragon looked down at her, opened its mouth, and _spoke_ : “I did! I’m Hot Rod!”

Viviane’s jaw would’ve dropped if she wasn’t scared of swallowing a bug. “You’re _talking_.”

“ _Oui_.”

“Put me down.”

“I can’t do that!”

“Put me down!” She started to struggle again kicking wildly.

“Don’t worry, I’m a fast flyer!” the dragon stated proudly. “We’re almost to Merlin’s castle!”

“ _Merlin_!?” Her _father_ was behind this? What did he think he was doing? Did he befriend a crazy, French dragon so it would kidnap her and take her to his ‘castle’ and force her to be his apprentice?”

Oh no, that wasn’t happening.

“This is your last chance!” she yelled up at the dragon. “Take me back to the town _right now_ or else.”

The dragon made a noise that could have been a chuckle, as if her threat was cute. Oh Viviane would show him cute.

She looked down, they had flown out of the clouds and she spotted a lake directly below her. She hoped it wasn’t shallow. She looked at the dragon’s foot that held her, there were slim openings between the metal. Before the dragon could see what she was doing Viviane pulled the knife from her belt and stabbed it in the vulnerable opening. The dragon let out loud snarl of pain and dropped her.

Viviane felt the knife slip from her hand as she plummeted to the earth, landing in the lake with a loud, and painful, splash. By the time her head broke the surface she saw the dragon crash land into the shallow end of the lake, sending large waves in his wake.

Viviane watched him hobble on three legs for a bit in the shallows, quickly squashing any sense of guilt as he turned a fiery glare at her.

“You _stabbed_ me!”

“You _kidnapped_ me!” she yelled back. “I told you to let me go! Numerous times!”

“And I told _you_ I was bringing you to Merlin’s castle.” He stood a step forward and Viviane pulled back, her head dropping under the water before she spluttered back to the surface.

“Little lady!” the dragon took a step toward her, his claws reaching out to her. “Why do you have to be like that? I just-” There must have been ad drop off in the lake cause suddenly the dragon dropped into the water, wings flapping with frustration as he pulled himself back onto the surface.

“You found her!”

A new voice made Viviane’s head snap around to see a man rushing toward the lake’s edge, behind him followed a person in full knight armor.

Viviane started to swim over to him, feeling relief that there were other humans here. “Help! I was kidnapped!”

The man actually chuckled and smirked at the dragon as if they were close friends. “Did you scare the poor girl, Hot Rod?”  
The dragon let out a huff, shaking water droplets off his body. “She’s _very_ difficult!”

Viviane had reached the shallows herself, standing up and gripping her skirts in her fists as she headed for the grass. “ _I’m_ difficult?” she snapped, looking toward the creature. “You’re the one who-”

Her voice came to an abrupt stop when she saw the dragon’s body start to shift and she stared, memorized. The dragon’s body folded into himself, wings and tails vanishing inside its body until it stood up on two legs. It was a…man? Made of some kind of metal? He looked over to Viviane with the same blue eyes and she quickly looked away, turning to the two men in front of her.

“Who are you?” she asked them, not rudely.

The first man smiled with welcome. “I’m Cade. I worked with your father.”

Oh, she had nearly forgotten. She looked around the large grassy hill and noticed the building a few yards away. It _did_ look like a minuscule castle and it was much nicer than any place Viviane had stayed in the last few years. “Well, you can tell my father that I still have no interest in learning about magic.”

The man named Cade flinched, the silent knight’s shoulders slightly drooped and even the former dragon shifted uncomfortably.

“He didn’t tell you,” Cade looked up at the metal man.

“I didn’t have the time,” replied the French voice.

An uncomfortable weight rested on Viviane’s chest and she didn’t have to ask the following question. She already knew the answer. “What happened?”  
“I’m afraid he passed away,” Cade said, voice slow with sympathy and grief. “A few days ago.”  
Viviane looked down at the grass, wet from the water that ran off her body. “Did he suffer?”

“No,” Cade assured her. “He had enough liquor to numb the pain when it was time.”

_Of_ course _he had enough liquor_. Viviane bit back the resentment the words had brought her.

“Thank you for telling me,” she said after taking a breath.

He blinked, seemed taken aback by her calm demeanor. “You’re welcome.”

“My father and I were never close,” she wanted to explain herself. “Still, I appreciate knowing. But I’d like to go back now.” She looked around for the best path off this hill and back to town.

“Oh, wait. We didn’t bring you here just to tell you about Merlin,” Cade quickly stepped in front of her as if she was about to bolt. It wasn’t an unreasonable thing to presume. “We needed you to-”

He was cut off as Viviane suddenly let out a yip. “WHY’S THERE ANOTHER ONE!?”  
The three turned their eyes upon to the sky to see a yellow dragon flying down toward them, landing atop the castle. Its eyes were much bigger than the others but no less blue. It was looking directly at her, its head tipped curiously.

“We found Merlin’s daughter!” Cade called to the dragon. “We found Viviane! Come meet her!”

“ _I_ found her,” the metal man muttered as Viviane tensed.

The yellow dragon must have sensed Viviane’s wariness as it dropped onto the grass only to stand behind the knight. It made a weird, buzzing chirp.

“This lad is Bumblebee,” Cade introduced.

The dragon nodded to Viviane who found herself nodding back. She then watched as he walked away, swiftly transforming into a man-like image as well and went over to stand next to Viviane’s kidnapper.

“You already met Hot Rod,” Cade replied, watching the two quietly converse. The knight walked over to stand next to the two giants.

“What are they?” Viviane had to ask.

“They tell me they’re called Cybertronians,” Cade explained to her. “They’re all from the stars.”

Viviane looked at him. “All? There’s more than two?”  
Cade nodded, “I don’t know how many. But Merlin told me Hot Rod and Bumblebee have a small group of friends. They’re traveling the world, looking for something from their homeland. Then there’s the ones Merlin was ki-” A look of awkwardness passed over his face before he continued: “Merlin was kind to them all. He considered them friends. Hopefully you’ll feel the same.”

Viviane immediately started to walk away, “I have no intention of staying long enough to do that.”

“You’re leaving?” her kidnapper-Hot Rod-looked at her, having caught her words. Viviane felt her muscles go taunt, half expecting him to grab her again.

“Can you at least hear us out,” Cade asked, following after her. “I promise, we didn’t bring you here for no good reason. We can even get you some dry clothes and something to eat.”

Viviane’s stomach growled loudly and she swallowed her pride. “Very well.”

.

Hot Rod watched Viviane follow Cade into Merlin’s house, still reeling from a mixture of surprise, annoyance, and embarrassment. He was very glad he hadn’t vocally expressed his admiration for her appearance before she stabbed him.

Hopefully Bumblebee couldn’t read his face, but the fellow Autobot wasn’t even looking at him. He was staring off into the tree line beyond Merlin’s property. His optics narrowed in thought.

Hot Rod had told Bumblebee about the unnerving human with the arrows that had pierced him. Another problem to add to the pile in Hot Rod’s opinion, but at the _bottom_ of the pile. At the top was Merlin’s daughter.

Hot Rod walked over to a large window which he knew was attached to Merlin’s small library where he kept his spells and other information.

Cade looked to be in the middle of an explanation in the library, Viviane listening until she heard Hot Rod approach. She looked at him and a frown spread across her face, “Do you have to linger?”

Hot Rod huffed, another surge of embarrassment going through his spark before turning sharply and walking a few feet away. Far be it from him to make her want to stab him again.

Bumblebee walked over to Hot Rod and gave him a questioning buzz.

“I didn’t make a good first impression,” he admitted to his old friend.

Bumblebee’s optics glowed with mirth and Hot Rod pointedly turned away from him. “Don’t laugh at me. I got stabbed.”

“Why’d she stabbed you?” the question came from beside Hot Rod’s foot and he glanced down at the little knight beside him, voice low and husky.

“Turns out she couldn’t hear my explanations while I carried her here,” Hot Rod muttered. “Or she just doesn’t care. Point is I picked her up and she stabbed me and surprise, surprise, I’m no longer in the best mood.” He wasn’t about to tell the two how he had been daydreaming about how soft her skin was while she prepared to drive a blade into his foot.

“Aw, don’t let that bother you too much,” the knight insisted. “I tried to _kill_ Bumblebee when we first met. But now we’re best friends.”

Bumblebee buzzed happily in agreement.

“Also,” the hoarse voice continued. “You can’t blame the woman for being scared of you, as you are-”

“ _Charlotte_ ,” Hot Rod interrupted, exasperated. “Please just…stop talking like that, no one else is even around!”

The knight halted, and then with a slump of shoulders, pulled the helmet off.

Long brown hair cascaded down the young woman’s shoulders and she glared up at Hot Rod with big brown eyes. “I thought you of all people would understand the need to stay under cover.”  
“My apologies, _Sir Charlie_ ,” Hot Rod said with dry mockery, earning him a glare from both the lady and Bumblebee.

“Anyway, what was I getting at?” Charlie began, looking thoughtful before her eyes brightened with memory. “Ah, right! If you’re so upset with how bad your first impression was with Viviane, why not just try to talk to her again? Make your _second_ impression much more positive.”

He gave the little human a once over, “Is that what you did after you tried to put a sword through Bumblebee’s chest?”

Bumblebee rolled his optics, clearing more annoyed with his friend than upset by the memory of his and Charlie’s first impression. But Charlie glanced away, her face red. “Not like it worked.”

.

Viviane awoke with a start.

The low moon hung from outside the window of her father’s old room, it was almost dawn.

Viviane had spent the day listening to Cade talk about her father’s magic, how he had become an ally to the Cybertronians when they first arrived, how he had some magical staff. Cade himself did not know all the details of said staff that was lying safely in the library. All he knew was that it was important, and only she-Merlin’s blood-could wield it.

And then she had gotten to eat, Cade and the wierdly quiet knight, Sir Charlie, had fixed her food to which she had been incredibly grateful. She also appreciated the new, dry dress they had given her, though she had no idea where said dress had come from.

_Probably belonged to one of my father’s old conquests_.

The thought of Merlin brought an unwanted twinge of guilt that she pushed down.

No longer tired she got out of bed and snuck into the library. She kept her distance from the staff. The air almost seemed to shimmer around it. Instead she turned to the large window of the library, it was connected to a small balcony where she wished to get some fresh night air.

Opening the window and taking the one step out to lean on the railings, Viviane felt herself jump.

Hot Rod had been leaning his back against the wall right next to the balcony, and he too looked surprised by the sudden appearance of her.

“I didn’t see you there,” was the first thing that came out of her mouth.

He looked away for a second before turning back to her, “I can’t exactly hide.”

The response wasn’t as snarky as she expected and she found her eyes going over his foreign body. The full moon was big and bright and offered enough light to get a good look at him. His posture was completely relaxed, with his arms crossed. She supposed he was muscular, without human flesh it was hard to tell, and she remembered he was taller than the yellow one. She had been too caught up in her fear and confusion that she hadn’t yet processed how…fascinating these people were.

People, she considered them…not creatures.

His eyes, glowing sapphire in the night, narrowed slightly. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but then closed it without a sound. Had she been staring?

Her eyes dropped to his hand, feeling the sense of guilt she had felt in the lake. “Are you okay?” she nodded to his hand.

He actually smirked and lifted his hand, flexing it for her to see. “It’ll take more than that to kill me,” he stated proudly.

“I would like to…” she began, slowly and awkwardly. “Apologize…for stabbing you.”

He seemed almost genuinely surprised by the words before pulling his mouth back up into a smile, looking a bit more sincere. “Well, since you sound _so_ regretful, I guess I can forgive you.”

Viviane caught the mirth in his eyes. Was he teasing her?

“If I can defend myself,” she went on. “I did think you were going to eat me.”

“Eat you, hmm?” he seemed to breathe, giving her a once over. “I’ll admit, it must be hard to listen to what someone says when you’re hundreds of feet in the air.”

“Especially when it’s your first time,” she added, casually leaning her elbows on the railing.

“Well, in that case,” Hot Rod leaned forward slightly. “You have my _sincerest_ apologies, Little Lady.”

A strange chill went up Charlie’s spine and she wrapped her arms around herself. Hot Rod tipped his head, catching her action but she was now looking around the clearly, saw the stars swimming in the lake.

“Where’s your friend?” she turned back to the Cybertronian. “Bumblebee?”

“Off flying,” Hot Rod shrugged nonchalantly. “Probably took Charlo-lie. Charlie, with him.”

“Oh, are they close?”

“In _separable_ ,” Hot Rod stated in a joking tone.

Viviane turned her eyes back to the stars. She could feel Hot Rod keeping his gaze on her but didn’t look back at him. In his defense this could have been the closest he had ever been to a human female, and it wasn’t like she hadn’t stared at him.

“So, um…” Hot Rod spoke up after a few minutes of silence. “What did you think of…all this?”

Viviane turned back to look at him, noticing he looked a little nervous. An odd sight on such an intimidating giant. “All this?” her brow furrowed.

He indicated to the castle, “This.”

“ _You_ are more of a surprise than the fact my father secretly had a magic staff inside his own private little castle,” Viviane stated bluntly.

“I am quite a surprise,” he stated. Viviane didn’t exactly understand what he meant by that but he tipped his head up with pride when he said it. But then he looked at her curiously. “You really didn’t know about the castle?”

She met his eye, “No. He never told me about it.”  
Hot Rod glanced away with a thoughtful narrowing of his eyes, as if he had trouble believing her words. “That’s…strange. I assumed you didn’t visit because you weren’t interested in his work.”

_In his work_. That made her mentally role her eyes. Yes, she was sure drinking his weight in liquor and skimming dusty old spell books was an incredibly taxing job.

“And I assumed he didn’t tell me about this place because he didn’t want to see me,” Viviane replied, feeling her mouth twist with bitterness.

“That’s not true!” Hot Rod immediately stated. “He talked about you all the time!”

The Cybertronian coming to her father’s defense made a sense of angry defensiveness burn under her skin. Who was he to tell her that Merlin cared for her? _He_ wasn’t the one who was basically abandoned because he didn’t have an interest in magic.

Viviane’s feelings must have shone clearly on her face cause Hot Rod seemed to shrink into himself, just a bit.

“That’s how I knew how to find you,” he continued, a little slower, a little unsure. “Cause he told me about you.”

“What could he possibly have told you?” Viviane demanded. “Actually, how could you tell I was his daughter?”

“I just knew,” Hot Rod said simply. “The moment I saw you.”

She frowned, guessing Merlin told him about she had long black hair and grayish blue eyes. But so did other women, which is what she said to Hot Rod.

He pointed to her face, “I could tell just by your eyes.”

“I don’t have Merlin’s eyes,” she stated.

“I know,” Hot Rod said, leaning a bit closer to get a better look at said eyes. “But I could still tell when I saw you…it’s strange…” his voice had softly drifted off in a way that made Viviane turn away.

“A pleasure talking with you, Hot Rod,” she told him, meaning it.

“Pleasure’s all mine, Little Lady.”

She thought about asking him why he called her that, but in the end decided not to. “I’ll be heading back to bed then, I have a few more hours before the sun comes up.”  
He nodded, eyes a warm glow as he watched her. “I’ll see you then?”

It was a meaningful question, he was asking her if she had decided to stay. To follow in Merlin’s foot prints, to take up the staff, to learn things millions of humans never would…

She smiled softly, “I’ll see you then, Hot Rod.”

Viviane walked out of the library, quietly made her way downstairs, and then found a back door on the other side of the house. Ears open to Cade’s snoring she stepped outside and started her quiet descent down the hill and into the trees. More than once she glanced behind her shoulder and up at the sky, expecting Hot Rod or Bumblebee to spot her. But she made it into the safety of the trees without being noticed.

_I’m sorry_ , the thought passed through her mind as she started to walk, heading back toward the town. She felt a sincere guilt at lying to Hot Rod and leaving the group without saying a goodbye. But as nice as they were she had no idea if they would have left her leave, she wouldn’t put it past her father to befriend that level of eccentric individuals.

She was sorry to hear Merlin had died, but she didn’t own him anything. She was his daughter and he hadn’t acted like it, she was not his apprentice or protege and she wouldn’t act like it. She would go back and live as normal a life as possible.

But warm blue eyes wouldn’t leave her head and she picked up her pace.

It was dawn when she heard the sound of hoofs. Viviane, having wandered onto a forest path, came to a stop, feeling a sense of relief when she saw a stormy gray horse and its rider appear in her line of sight.

The scrawny man atop the beast looked surprised to see her and came to a stop in front of the woman. “It’s you.”

His voice was a rasp and Viviane’s brow tented. “Do we know each other?”

“I saw you get taken by that dragon,” he told her, and then looked around. “I was coming to save you. Where is the beast?”

Viviane glanced at the pack of arrows strapped to his back. She turned back to the man, “I don’t know. I stabbed it with the knife I always keep. Luckily I landed on soft ground. I ran into the trees and it didn’t follow, just…flew off.” She indicated wildly to the sky. 

“Hm, and here I was hoping I’d get to be a hero,” the man said jokingly. He gave Viviane a knowing look as if she was in on the joke.

“If you could escort me back to town I’d consider you a hero,” she offered hopefully, her feet aching.

The man smirked, and there was a flash of a second, where she could have sworn his eyes were red.

_I must be more tired than I realized_ , she thought wonderingly.

The man offered her his hand, “Of course, I can escort you back. What’s your name, milady?”

She smiled and took the slender, cool hand. “Viviane.”


End file.
